Unlike in Loudoun and Fairfax counties – where two incomes often combine to create the household income – in Arlington, four in 10 homes are one-person households, the Post says.

Arlington saw a one-year income gain of $6,000, moving from the No. 5 spot in the 2010 rankings to the No. 3 spot.

While Virginia counties rank among the wealthiest counties, the state of Virginia ranks ninth overall in highest income level, the Post says. Median household income in Virginia is nearly $62,000, compared with $70,000 in Maryland and about $63,000 in D.C.

Maryland’s household income is the highest in the nation, the Examiner reports.

The new census data show the median U.S. household income to be $50,502, a 3 percent drop from 2008, according to the Examiner.

With a backbone built around federal positions and federal contracting jobs, the Washington region weathered the recession better than other parts of the nation. The entire region gets more than 20 percent of all federal payroll and procurement dollars.